SeekCap eyes to process P33.5B in MSME loans

March 2, 2022 | 12:01 am

ABOITIZ-LED lending marketplace SeekCap is looking to process P33.5 billion in credit this year to extend more financing for small businesses, it said in a statement.

“Our goal is to reach 100,000 new customers this year or about 10% of the total growing businesses in the country,” UBX Managing Director for Lending Marcy Pilar-Inajada said. UBX is the financial technology venture studio and fund of the UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc.

Last year, the platform was able to process P6 billion in loans, a fourfold increase from 2020. These financing went to more than 40,000 micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

SeekCap said it will continue to seek partnerships with more MSME ecosystems and players from e-commerce, franchising and wholesale industries to expand its reach.

Its current partners include Lazada Philippines and foodpanda. Last year, it also inked a partnership with Maxicare HealthCare Corp., allowing Maxicare MSME users to avail of credit ranging from P50,000 to P1 million.

SeekCap has also partnered with the local government of Pasig for the city’s business loan program.

“Our strategy is to activate as many channels as we can. With the partnerships with the government, we hope to activate more channels within the different cities and provinces, especially in the far-flung areas where the unserved and underserved are,” Ms. Pilar-Inajada said.

MSMEs account for about 99.5% of total registered businesses in the Philippines and are among the worst hit by the pandemic.

UnionBank, the parent of SeekCap, recorded a net profit of P12.6 billion in 2021, higher by 9% from a year earlier. This was driven by improving revenues and declining loan loss provisions.

The bank’s shares closed at P99.60 apiece on Tuesday, down by 40 centavos or 0.40% from its previous finish. — L.W.T. Noble

Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of select ASEAN economies, February 2022

March 2, 2022 | 12:00 am

MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY in the Philippines rebounded to its highest level in over three years in February, as demand and production picked up amid the further easing of mobility restrictions. Read the full story.

How PSEi member stocks performed — March 1, 2022

March 2, 2022 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.

National government fiscal performance (Dec. 2021)

March 2, 2022 | 12:00 am

THE GOVERNMENT fell short of its budget deficit ceiling in 2021, as it generated better-than-expected revenues but missed its spending target, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed. Read the full story.

Peso up on strong manufacturing PMI

March 1, 2022 | 9:00 pm

THE PESO strengthened versus the greenback on Tuesday on strong manufacturing data and gains in the stock market.

The local unit closed at P51.23 a dollar on Tuesday, appreciating by four centavos from its P51.27 finish on Monday, based on data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

The peso opened Tuesday’s session at P51.24 per dollar. Its weakest showing was at P51.295, while its intraday best was at P51.21 versus the greenback.

Dollars exchanged increased to $942.21 million on Tuesday from $780.5 million on Monday.

A trader said the peso rose as manufacturing data released on Tuesday showed improved activity.

The Philippine Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was at 52.8 in February, above the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction, IHS Markit said on Tuesday. This is higher than the 50 in January and the highest since December 2018.

IHS Markit economist Shreeya Patel said easing restrictions as well as improvements in material availability helped improve factory activity last month.

Meanwhile, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the peso strengthened following gains in the stock market.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by 93.60 points or 1.28% to end at 7,404.61 on Tuesday, while the all shares index gained 31.96 points or 0.82% to close at 3,921.05.

For Wednesday, Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P51.10 to P51.30 per dollar, while the trader expects the local unit to move within P51.05 to P51.25. — L.W.T. Noble

Local stocks extend gains on bargain hunting

March 1, 2022 | 9:00 pm

SHARES extended their gains on Tuesday as investors picked up bargains following the first round of talks between officials of Russia and Ukraine.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 93.60 points or 1.28% to close at 7,404.61 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares went up by 31.96 points or 0.82% to close the session at 3,921.05.

“The index continued to rally today, consistent with some markets across Asia following the first round of talks between Kyiv and Moscow officials, which somehow gave investors a sigh of relief while assessing the current state of the tensions between both countries,” Timson Securities, Inc. Trader Darren Blaine T. Pangan said in a Viber message on Tuesday.

“Bargain shoppers trooped to the local bourse, lifting the PSEi,” online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com said in a report. “Participants cheered G7’s concerted efforts given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

Asian stocks regained some composure on Tuesday as the massive selling that rocked financial markets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week paused for breath, while surging crude prices supported oil exporters in the region, Reuters reported.

Global stock markets have tumbled in recent days following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions, which include cutting off some of Russia’s banks from the SWIFT financial network and limiting Moscow’s ability to deploy its $630-billion foreign reserves.

High-level talks between Kyiv and Moscow on Monday ended with no agreement except to keep talking, but Asian markets stabilized on signs of no immediate escalation of sanctions.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.42% and Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.47%.

Back home, majority of sectoral indices ended in the green, except for industrials, which went down 76.65 points or 0.74% to 10,264.62, and property, which fell by 3.13 points or 0.08% to 3,537.66.

Meanwhile, holding firms increased by 231.92 points or 3.36% to 7,127.91; mining and oil gained by 249.96 points or 2.04% to 12,482.70; services climbed by 26.59 points or 1.39% to 1,940.14; and financials advanced by 15.58 points or 0.92% to 1,705.46.

Value turnover decreased to P7.84 billion with 1.01 billion shares changing hands on Tuesday from the P11.61 billion with 2.11 billion issues seen the previous day.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 135 versus 60, while 49 names closed unchanged.

Foreigners turned sellers on Tuesday with P83.13 million in net outflows from the P202.74 million in net purchases seen on Monday.

Mr. Pangan placed the PSEi’s support at 6,940 this week, with its nearest resistance at 7,510, while 2TradeAsia.com put immediate support at 7,270 and resistance at 7,400-7,450. — L.M.J.C. Jocson with Reuters

Pandemic shaved off P3.8-T from PHL economy, NEDA says

March 1, 2022 | 8:23 pm

THE extent of the economy’s losses after nearly two years of the public health crisis was estimated at P3.8 trillion, based on government economic planners’ projections for the size of economy had the pandemic not intervened.

“As the economy bounces back, we now have to recover all the losses we experienced in the last two years,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said in a televised briefing late Monday.

“If not for the pandemic, dapat tuloy-tuloy ’yung ating growth (our growth would have been continuous),” and estimated the size of the economy at P25.3 trillion by 2022, stripping out the pandemic’s impact.

The agency Mr. Chua heads, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), currently estimates the size of the economy at P21.5 trillion this year.

The P3.8 trillion gap between the two estimates includes P1.3 trillion in lost household income, P2.2 trillion in lost corporate income, and P300 billion in indirect taxes foregone.

The shift to the more relaxed Alert Level 1 quarantine setting, he said, will help speed up the recovery. NEDA estimates that P9.4 billion will be added to the economy each week with the easing of restrictions this month.

The ranks of the unemployed are also expected to fall by about 170,000 over the next quarter.

If the entire Philippines shifts to Alert Level 1, he added, the additional economic activity is valued at P16.5 billion each week.

The employment recovery at the end of last year will likely drive economic growth in 2022 despite the effects of the Omicron variant, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) said in a joint report on Tuesday.

“A surge in Omicron-variant cases in January notwithstanding, we think growth will accelerate in 2022 specially considering the huge job gains in the fourth quarter of 2021,” FMIC and UA&P in their market call report.

Infrastructure spending will support growth in the first half because election spending bans exclude major projects, the report said.

“Manufacturing will likely continue to robustly expand in the first half, despite the usual slowdown in January after the Christmas holidays.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Chua said that the resumption of face-to-face schooling increases economic activity by about P12 billion a week, with services like accommodation, food, and transport for students resuming. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Negros Occidental court issues injunction against plan to import 200,000 MT of sugar

March 1, 2022 | 8:23 pm

THE Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has been issued a writ of preliminary injunction by a court in Negros Occidental, ordering it to desist from implementing a plan to import 200,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar.

In a six-page decision, Judge Reginald M. Fuentebella of Sagay City’s Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 73 ordered the maintenance of the status quo prior to the implementation of the import plan. The freeze on the imports applies until the resolution of the case, unless earlier lifted by order of the court.

United Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED) President Manuel R. Lamata said the decision is a “victory” for sugar producers.

“This decision just affirms that the industry was right and the SRA was wrong,” Mr. Lamata said in a statement.

Sugar Order (SO) No. 3 calls for the import of 200,000 MT of standard and bottler’s grade refined sugar to serve as a supply buffer in storm-hit regions and to stabilize prices.

“We are not against imports per se, but we have been pushing for proper consultation and a calibrated import program which is beneficial to all and not just for a particular sector,” UNIFED Director Joseph Edgar M. Sarrosa said.

Mr. Sarrosa sought the injunction on behalf of the Rural Sugar Planters Association, Inc., a member of UNIFED.

UNIFED has been urging the government to recall the sugar order because of the lack of consultation and poor timing. The order was issued during the milling season, depressing the price obtained by planters from the mills.

“News of SO No. 3 led to a huge drop in sugar prices, prompting us to (seek) a temporary restraining order against it,” UNIFED said.

Asked to comment on the court ruling, the SRA said in reply to a query that it has “yet to officially receive any decision from RTC Sagay as to whether a writ of preliminary injunction had been issued on SO No. 3, or the sugar importation program. This legal matter shall be seasonably endorsed to the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel for appropriate action. Meantime, as SRA is precluded from discussing the merits of the pending case, all it could maintain is that the assailed SO is within the mandate of SRA, on the valid grounds as stated in the SO. The SRA shall endeavor to avail of legal remedies to ensure that it adheres to its legal mandates, all for the sake of the sugarcane industry.”

Separately, the Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers, Inc. (PCFMI) expressed its support for the import order, suggesting a divergence of interests between planters and the food industry.

“Due to the current local shortage of refined sugar that conforms with the quality requirements of food manufacturers, particularly premium and bottler’s grade refined sugar, we join the SRA in its assessment that there is an urgent need for such imports,” the PCFMI said in a statement.

“The inability to import refined sugar that meets the quality standards of food manufacturers poses a threat to food security, specifically the continued supply of essential food commodities. Existing sugar stocks for food manufacturing are dwindling, and therefore imports under the circumstances are necessary,” it added.

At the House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker and Negros Occidental Rep. Arnulfo A. Teves, Jr. said at a committee hearing on Tuesday the sugar industry was not adequately consulted on the import order.

“First of all, I’d like to say that what (SRA Administrator Hermenegildo R.) Serafica said about stakeholders not knowing the intricacies of business was insulting. I’m also a stakeholder. I grew up on sugar,” he said in Filipino in an online committee hearing. “One more thing, it is a lie to say that all stakeholders agreed. I did not agree. He could say that most stakeholders agreed, but not all. So, he’s wrong.”

Mr. Teves also asked why the SRA was not addressing high fertilizer and fuel costs.

“If they are really looking at the big picture, why are they so focused on imports? Why are they not looking at importing cheap fertilizer? And having cheaper fuel?” he said. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson, Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan

Philippine smartphone market shrank in 2021 amid lockdowns, supply pressures

March 1, 2022 | 8:23 pm

Mobile-phones — STOCK PHOTO | Image by terimakasih0 from Pixabay

THE Philippine smartphone market contracted 5.6% to 17.8 million units in 2021, with lockdowns dampening buying activity and global supply bottlenecks restricting supply, the International Data Corp. (IDC) said.

“The recurring lockdowns and global supply constraints in the second half of 2021 hampered the market’s growth with several vendors struggling to fulfill orders during the holiday season, resulting in low inventories across the channels,” the IDC, a market research company for the tech industry, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The IDC said sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 declined 23.3% year on year even as shipments increased 18.4% quarter on quarter.

“The gradual reopening of retail shops resulted in more consumers buying through physical stores,” it said.

The IDC expects “double-digit growth” in the smartphone market this year, recovering from a weak second half of 2021, and as supply constraints ease.

Angela Jenny V. Medez, client devices market analyst at IDC Philippines, said the smartphone market’s growth this year will be driven by fifth-generation (5G) smartphones, which accounted for 12.7% of shipments in 2021.

“The share is expected to double in 2022. In addition, aggressive pricing among Chinese vendors has dragged the average price for 5G Android smartphones down from $471 in 4Q20 (fourth quarter of 2020) to $386 in 4Q21 (fourth quarter of 2021), with some 5G models priced less than $200,” she added.

The top five smartphone brands in terms shipments to the Philippines last year were realme (3.96 million), OPPO (2.62 million), Transsion (2.47 million), Samsung (2.40 million), and vivo (2.39 million).

Last year, realme had a 22.2% market share in the Philippines, followed by Samsung (15.3%), OPPO (14.7%), Transsion (13.8%), and vivo (13.4%).

“Shipments to retail channels are expected to bounce back in 2022, as foot traffic continues to increase in the shopping malls, where most of the key smartphone stores and kiosks are located in the larger cities. The vendors are expected to restart their retail expansion and open more stores across the country, which had taken a hiatus during the lockdowns,” Ms. Medez said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

BoC February revenue tops P59 billion, beating target

March 1, 2022 | 8:22 pm

THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said its revenue in February exceeded its target by over 17%, due mainly to an improved process of valuing goods.

The bureau in a statement on Tuesday said it collected P59.04 billion, 17.4% higher than the target.

Collections in February also exceeded the year-earlier total by over 25%.

Fourteen of the 17 collection districts exceeded their February targets.

The outperformers are the Port of San Fernando, Port of Manila, Manila International Container Port, Batangas, Iloilo, Cebu, Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Davao, Subic, Clark, Aparri, and Limay.

In the year to date, collections amounted to P117.52 billion.

“Aside from this positive performance, the bureau maintained its border security measures against undervaluation, misdeclaration and other forms of technical smuggling, and collect lawful revenues,” the BoC said.

In 2021, Customs collected a total of P645.77 billion, 20% higher than the previous year and 4.7% above the bureau’s target, as international trade rebounded after the pandemic. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Agencies granted power to rule on relevance of info requests

March 1, 2022 | 8:22 pm

GOVERNMENT agencies have been authorized to determine whether requests for the personal information of public officials are a matter of public concern, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) said.

In a statement on Tuesday, the NPC said Privacy Commissioner John Henry D. Naga signed NPC Advisory No. 2022-01, which hopes to make information requests conform to privacy norms by subjecting them to tests for transparency, legitimacy of purpose, and proportionality. The person whose information is being requested also has the right to be notified of such requests, and to be informed of action taken.

“The advisory aims to strike a balance between the right of the people to information on matters of public concern and the right to privacy of an individual,” Mr. Naga said.

“Thus, the advisory recognizes the Filipino people’s right to information and the necessity of an open and transparent government, while also giving due consideration and respect to the dignity, safety, and human rights of public officers,” he added.

The NPC said every government agency is responsible for personal data under its control or custody.

Section 7 of the advisory defines the coverage of the guidelines to include public officers and individuals under contract of service.

The section also requires that requests have a clear purpose that is not contrary to law, morals, or public policy.

“When evaluating requests, the government agency shall determine whether the information requested is a matter of public concern and whether there is a public purpose to be served that may outweigh the rights and freedoms of the public officer as a data subject,” the NPC said.

“If the requested document or information is denied and deemed not of public concern, the requestor must be informed within a reasonable time accompanied by a justification,” it added.

The government agency also has the authority to determine whether sensitive personal information is relevant to the purpose of the requesting party.

If deemed irrelevant, the commission said any sensitive personal details can also be redacted.

“Some of these information may include (the) home address of the declarant; details of any unmarried children below 18 years of age living in declarant’s household, if any, particularly their names, dates of birth, and ages; signatures of the declarant and co-declarant; and government-issued ID numbers of the declarant and co-declarant,” the NPC said.

Permitted for disclosure include titles, business address, and office telephone numbers of the data subject; the classification, salary range, and responsibilities of the position held by the subject; and whether the subject is a current or former employee of a government institution.

“Documents (e.g., Personal Data Sheet or PDS, Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth or SALN) that contain sensitive personal information of the concerned public officer, or his or her family, may be granted if there is a declared, specified, and lawful purpose,” the NPC said.

Deputy Privacy Commissioner Leandro Angelo Y. Aguirre said: “We hope that this circular addresses some misconceptions that data privacy and the freedom of information are in conflict with each other. A key mandate of the NPC is to ensure the free flow of information.” — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Spot market regulator calls for more RE to minimize power outages

March 1, 2022 | 8:20 pm

A MORE diverse power mix featuring an increased share of renewable energy (RE) will ensure the stability of the power supply, the governing body of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) said.

At the Philippine Solar PV Energy Virtual Summit last week, Leonido J. Pulido III, the president of the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), said the Philippines cannot continue to rely on conventional generators which are subject to periodic breakdown or maintenance periods.

Conventional power generators are fired by fuel oil, coal, and natural gas.

“We have to look into other sources to augment our supply… through the increased penetration of renewable (RE) sources,” he said.

“Institutionalizing effective strategies is imperative for us to fully harness the benefits of these RE resources, which include energy prices and supply stability to power up the Philippine economy in the new normal,” he said.

PEMC has partnered with the United Nations Office for Project Services to help implement the energy transition roadmap and introduce market mechanisms to boost the RE market.

During a virtual economic briefing hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Washington on Feb. 24, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said the Philippine Energy Plan 2020-2040, which outlines the strategy for a clean energy transition, “opens up vibrant investment prospects” that have been further enhanced by “bold policies to increase the interest and participation of domestic and international investors.”

Mr. Cusi also expressed the government’s interest in alternative energy sources and technologies like modular reactors, hydrogen, and electric vehicles for transport.

The Philippines is expected to add capacity of 7,910.96 megawatts by 2027, with coal-fired plants accounting for 46.68%, natural gas 38.71%, renewable energy 11.39%, and facilities fueled by oil 6.67%, according to DoE data on committed projects from last year.

In 2020, the power mix consisted of 57% coal-fired, 21% RE, 19% natural gas, and 2% oil. — Marielle C. Lucenio